Today's News: March 07, 2017

World News

Is this the final resting place of Amelia Earhart? Bones discovered on Pacific island are ‘99% certain to be hers’ says scientist
Daily Mail – The decades-old mystery over the disappearance of Amelia Earhart has been cracked with 99% certainty, according to a top scientist probing the case.
The famous aviator disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean during an attempted round-the-world flight in 1937.
Earhart, her plane and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were never found, and the mystery of what happened to them continues to fascinate to this day.
But now an expert on skeletal biology, Richard Jantz of the University of Tennessee in the US city of Knoxville, believes he has cracked the case – claiming bones found on a Pacific island are ‘99% likely’ to be hers.
In 1940, bones were discovered on Gardner Island – now called Nikumaroro – 400 miles south of Earhart’s planned stopover on Howland Island.

Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump, says U.S. political system ‘eating itself up’
GlobalNews – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has praised U.S. President Donald Trump but expressed disappointment with the U.S. political system, saying it is “eating itself up.”
Asked if he was disappointed with Trump, Putin told state TV that he had no such feeling, adding he had a very positive impression of Trump, whom he met on the sidelines of international summits last year.

Former Russian Spy Poisoned by Nerve Agent, British Police Say
New York Times – A former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned by a nerve agent in England this week, the British authorities said on Wednesday, heightening suspicions that the episode was an assassination attempt by a national government, amid rampant speculation that Russia was responsible.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Trump DOJ sues California over ‘interference’ with immigration enforcement
Fox News – The Trump Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday night against California, saying three recently-passed state laws were deliberately interfering with federal immigration policies.
It marked the latest legal and political confrontation with the nation’s most populous state, which the federal government says has repeatedly stood in the way of its plans to step up enforcement actions in the workplace and against criminal aliens.

Former student indicted on 17 counts of murder in Florida school shooting
Reuters – A Florida grand jury formally indicted Nikolas Cruz on Wednesday on 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree for last month’s shooting spree at a high school in Parkland, prosecutors said.

This city requires locals to own a gun (video)
CNN – As the gun debate rages across the US, a city ordinance in Kennesaw, Georgia, requires residents to own a gun.

Gary Cohn quits White House, Trump: ‘No chaos’
Al Jazeera – President Donald Trump‘s top economic adviser has resigned after clashing with the president over planned tariffs on steel and aluminium. Cohn is expected to leave in a matter of weeks, the White House has confirmed on Tuesday.
>> Related: Dow falls 1 percent at open after Cohn’s exit

Maryland State Senate Passes Bill Forcing Presidential Candidates to Release Tax Returns
Breitbart – The state Senate of Maryland has passed a bill requiring presidential candidates to publicly release their tax returns in order to appear on the state’s ballot.
The bill, which passed through the Democrat-controlled state Senate by 28-17, requires both presidential and vice-presidential candidates to release their tax for the past five years to participate.

Conn. Gov. Malloy: NRA Acting as ‘Terrorist Organization’
Newsmax – Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said the National Rifle Association is acting like a “terrorist organization,” according to Fox61 TV.
“They act quite frankly in some cases as a terrorist organization,” Malloy said. “You want to make safer guns? We will boycott your company. That’s who they are. That’s what they do.”

More Than 200K People Expected to Leave Puerto Rico This Year
Newsmax – Puerto Ricans continue to leave the island in droves rather than toil in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the stunted recovery efforts that still see much of the island without power, The Washington Post reports.
While it’s difficult to accurately gauge how many have left — or will leave — permanently, one estimate by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) predicts between 114,000 and 213,000 people will leave the island this year.

California Bill Would Require Fire Inspections For Homeschool Families
Off Grid News – Homeschool families in California might get a visit from the fire marshal if proposed legislation becomes law.
Assembly Bill (AB) 2756 would require fire inspections for home schools.
“The bill would require the Superintendent to prepare a list of private schools with five or fewer pupils and to provide the list directly to the State Fire Marshal, the chief of a city or county fire department or district providing fire protection services to the area in which the school is located, and the chief’s authorized representatives to fulfill a specified annual inspection,” The Legislative Counsel’s Digest said of AB 2756.
The bill would allow for warrantless searches of homeschool families’ homes, Mike Smith of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) charged.
“Government officials would be empowered to enter a home without a warrant, reasonable cause, or consent,” Smith wrote of AB 2756. “In other words, this is a clear violation of protections we have under both the federal and state constitutions. Our homes are meant to be free from this type of unlawful state actions.”
Smith also alleged that fire safety is not the real intent of AB 2756.

Democrats to unveil $1 trillion infrastructure plan, seek reversal of GOP tax cuts to finance it
Washington Post – As the White House struggles to finance an ambitious infrastructure plan, Senate Democrats are proposing one alternative — albeit one unlikely to pass muster with President Trump: rolling back the recently passed Republican tax overhaul.

The FBI paid Geek Squad employees as informants
FoxNews – The FBI has been in cahoots with Best Buy’s Geek Squad for at least the past decade, new documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit reveal.
An FBI memo obtained by the nonprofit digital rights group reveals that Best Buy in September 2008 hosted a meeting of the law enforcement agency’s Cyber Working Group at a Geek Squad repair facility in Kentucky. The memo indicates that the local FBI division “has maintained close liaison with the Geek Squad’s management in an effort to glean case initiations and to support the division’s Computer Intrusion and Cyber Crime programs.”

Christian group sues Michigan university after it is kicked off campus
Fox News – A Christian student group is suing a Michigan college after being stripped of its official recognition solely because it required its religious leaders to embrace Christianity.
After 75 years on campus, Wayne State University unconstitutionally de-recognized InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in October, because the group requires its leaders to be Christians, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court yesterday.

Veteran News

Watchdog report: Failed VA leadership put patients at risk
ABC – As a top Veterans Administration official in the Obama administration, current Secretary David Shulkin took no action to fix longstanding problems of dirty syringes and equipment shortages that put patients at risk at a major veterans hospital, according to an investigation released Wednesday that finds “failed leadership” and “climate of complacency” at agency.
The 150-page report by the VA internal watchdog offers new details to its preliminary finding last April of patient safety issues at the Washington, D.C., medical center. Painting a grim picture of communications breakdowns, chaos and spending waste at the government’s second largest department, the report found that at least three VA program offices directly under Shulkin’s watch knew of “serious, persistent deficiencies” when he was VA undersecretary of health under former President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2016.

Economy & Business

US juice and peanut butter face new EU tax
BBC – The EU has condemned US plans for tough tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, saying they jeopardise European jobs. EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom set out plans to retaliate against the proposed US tariffs.

Coca-Cola to make its first alcoholic drink
BBC – Coca-Cola is planning to produce an alcoholic drink for the first time in the company’s 125-year history – with an alcopop-style product in Japan.
It is keen to cash in on the country’s growing taste for Chu-Hi – canned sparkling flavoured drinks given a kick with a local spirit called shochu.
The product is typically between 3% and 8% alcohol by volume.
A senior Coke executive in Japan said the move was a “modest experiment for a specific slice of our market”.

Florida Lawmakers Poised to Vote on Gun Restrictions
Orlando Weekly – Florida House members are poised to vote Wednesday on legislation that would add new gun restrictions and school-safety measures in the wake of the deadly Parkland, Fla., school shooting last month.
It would implement the first notable gun restrictions in decades in Florida, a state with a history of passing firearm-friendly laws. Lawmakers face intense pressure to act from Republican Gov. Rick Scott and family members of those killed in the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead.

Bitcoin falls after SEC warning that trading platforms could be ‘unlawful’
RT – The price of bitcoin has fallen to a one-and-a-half-week low on Bitstamp, following a warning from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that some cryptocurrency trading platforms are “potentially unlawful.”

Rand Paul to Introduce ‘Audit the Fed’ as Amendment to Senate Banking Bill
The Daily Sheeple – Washington, D.C. – Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced on March 5 that he will introduce his “Audit the Fed” legislation, which would permit a full audit of the Federal Reserve System, as an amendment to the Senate Banking Bill. The Senate is expected to vote on the Banking Bill, S. 2155— officially known as the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act— this week.
Energy & Environment

Another snowstorm hits the Northeast, threatens more outages
NBC – The second big, blustery storm to hit the Northeast in less than a week began bringing wet, heavy snow Wednesday to a corner of the country where tens of thousands of people were still waiting for the power to come back on from the first bout of wintry weather.

The Latest: Trucks banned from highways as storm bears down
Miami Herald – Officials in at least two states are banning big rigs from major highways and warning other drivers to stay off the roads as a late-winter storm bears down on the Northeast.
Science & Technology

China’s Hypersonic Tech Poses Existential Risk to US Carrier Fleet
Sputnik – The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, toting dozens of fighter jets around the world, will soon lose their ability to project power if the US cannot produce systems to defend against hypersonic weapons like the ones being developed by China and Russia, a senior Pentagon official said March 7.

Fast Food Workers, Meet Your Replacement: Flippy the Robot
The Daily Bell – No one should have to compete with robots. That is why everyone should strive to do what robots cannot.
Flipping burgers and taking orders are quite easy tasks for robots. We have already seen touchscreens offer an alternative to human cashiers. Now robots are starting to replace the backroom staff.

New Food Preservation Technology Means No Need to Refrigerate
Wired – High-tech new food preservation methods that fend off the bad stuff (bacteria, spoilage) while protecting the good (flavor, texture, nutrients). Scientists are experimenting with everything from microwave sterilization to blasts of plasma to ensure food stays appetizing longer—even without refrigeration. That salmon dinner you bought on Monday? It’ll taste just as fresh a week later.

Gardening, Farming & Homesteading

40 Ideas for Gardening with Kids (that actually make it fun)
The Survival Mom – Gardening is good for kids emotionally and mentally. Being outside promotes teambuilding and connection with the family. Communication skills are improved and new vocabulary is learned. Studies find that children who garden have reduced amounts of anxiety, stress and tend to be in a better mood. Having responsibility promotes a feeling of self-worth and responsibility. They develop an understanding of where our food comes and the need to care for our planet. After weeding, children learn fast how hard farmers work. Also, children learn the importance of consistency. This is learned fast after a few missed days of watering or weeding!

Health

Landmark JAMA Study Shows Over-the-Counter Pain Meds Work BETTER Than Deadly Opioids
Free Thought Project – As the nation and the medical establishment wrestles with a burgeoning opioid/opiate/heroin overdose epidemic, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published the results of a new study which seems to indicate a possible solution to the over-prescribing of opiates. While a handful of providers disagree with some of the study’s findings, preliminary data shows opiates work no better than over-the-counter pain medicines for some types of chronic pain.

Advocates Push for Medicaid Funds to Help Opioid Crisis
Newsmax – Health advocates including doctors and governors are calling on Congress to lift a rule that bars Medicaid from being used for funding care for opioid addiction.
Legislators are discussing at least partially lifting the restrictions in opioid legislation that could make it to the House floor by Memorial Day, The Hill reported Wednesday.